The four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has urged the visiting EU delegation to pressure President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government to fully implement the accountability resolution co-sponsored by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government in Oct. 2015.
The resolution called for hybrid war crimes courts with foreign judges, including those representing Commonwealth countries.
The European Union delegation led by Paola Pampaloni Director, Deputy Managing Director, Asia Pacific met Leader of the Tamil National Alliance Sampanthan on Monday, Feb 10 in Parliament.
MP Sampanthan briefed the delegation on the long process that has gone on to find a political solution to the national question.
A statement issued by the TNA quoted MP Sampanthan as having said that the government of Sri Lanka had not kept to its commitments thus far, and these commitments were made during the armed conflict between the LTTE and the Government. These commitments couldn’t be abandoned just because the LTTE had been wiped out. "The struggle has been for the Tamil people and not for the LTTE and the legitimate demands of the Tamil people to have powers of governance within a united indivisible undivided Sri Lanka must be respected," ampanthan said.
The TNA said:
"Sampanthan further stressed that the International community must come out in public regarding these commitments, the silence of the international community in these matters is encouraging the government to ignore these commitments. Further speaking Sampanthan impressed upon the delegation to ensure that the full implementation of the UNHRC resolution is being carried out by the Government of Sri Lanka. Especially as to what has happened to those who were handed over to the Armed forces and government authorities by their relatives during the last phase of the war. If such persons have gone missing the relevant officials must be called upon and inquired into to ascertain the truth."
"The international community should play its role to bring about the justice concerning these persons and ascertain the truth; our people are longing to know the truth."
"The EU delegation assured that their concerns on these matters will be reflected soon in their decisions."